The Balance
The Balance
Greetings Golfers,
Just got back home. Of course … we got hit with a blizzard … but this is March in Minnesota.
Heard a bunch of great podcasts on the drive back. Even one about AI … which I vaguely understand … and definitely don’t know what it means for the future.
I worry about life becoming too mechanical … too robotic … too much emphasis on efficiency.
Obviously those can be good things … but as I tried to say … not too much.
Just read an article about “Fordism” … meaning Henry Ford and his development of the assembly line. The article was concerned that “Fordism” had taken over our society.
I get it. What we need is a balance. Factories can make things more affordable and thus accessible to more people. For example, if you need a table and have little to spend … you can find a cheap functional table pretty easily. Would I rather have a well-crafted non-factory-made table … that could be passed down for generations? Yeah … I’m that guy. Would it be maybe cheaper in the long run? Probably. But what about the person who doesn’t have that option and wants it now?
Since we’re talking about Henry Ford … here’s an example of how this works with cars. I have 2 cars - a fairly new Jeep … and an old Alfa Romeo. The Jeep is very efficient. It works … rain, snow, or shine. The Alfa … not so much. Some years it doesn’t even get out of the shop. Hard to find parts and hard to find people who can work on it.
Why do I own the Alfa? Because I like to drive. I really like to drive. The thought of self-driving cars makes me crazy. Is the Alfa efficient? No. I don’t really trust it. But when I can … I love to drive it to Deer Run on the back roads. It’s a longer, slower route … but really fun if you’re into driving.
If I’m squeezed for time … I take the Jeep and take the highway.
Ok … let’s talk courses. Do I want Deer Run to be more Jeep than Alfa … or vice-versa? I want it to be more Alfa … but still efficient. I think playing golf is more like my loving of driving a car than getting from point A to point B.
Do I want slow rounds and inefficient service? Of course not. But I don’t want the course to feel like a racetrack and that we’re trying to run you out here.
Now this interesting. We share the golf course. We share the planet. How do we keep it personal … and efficient enough to be fair to everyone?
We believe that a 4 hour round is reasonable for everyone … not a race track … but still efficient enough to be fair and not slow. However, there may be “slow-ups” along the way. The group ahead of you may have lost multiple balls on the same hole. That may lead to a slowdown. Once they get settled … things should pick-up and get back on pace.
However … some people think that slow-down should never happen. Or that our staff in the Pub should never get it with a big wave of people that slow-down their order. That way of looking at life is too “Fordism”. People are not robots. Life is not totally about efficiency.
Those type of people are never happy. How could they be? Life is not that mechanical … Thank God!
Life when we’re Down South is more Alfa than Jeep. It’s why we go there. When JFK was elected President, he was asked about Washington DC. He said “It has the efficiency of the South and the charm of the North”. Ouch.
My goal for DRGC is the opposite. I want the charm of the South and the efficiency of the North. Can we do it? We can try. But we’ll never get perfect balance … I just hope it’s close.
Cheers,
Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com